Looking for ways to learn how to create passive income in 2025? You’re in the right place! As your financial friend and coach, I’m excited to share some game-changing strategies that can help you build wealth while you sleep. Trust me, I’ve been there – working hard for every dollar, wondering if there’s a better way. Well, there is! And I’m here to show you exactly how to make your money work harder than you […]

What is the best Christmas market in NYC? Christmas is our favorite time to visit New York City. The streets are decorated with elegant Christmas trees, garlin, and twinkling lights. Hear holiday-themed music playing from pedicabs whizzing by from nearly every street corner. Spot Christmas carolers and the many window displays in Midtown make shopping […] The post Best Christmas Markets in NYC For Unforgettable Shopping & Mouthwatering Treats appeared first on The Thought Card.

The stock market outlook remains in an uptrend, even though the “Santa Claus rally” too a bit a of a breather last week.

Minimum Monthly Account FeesVanguard UK announced this week that from 31 January 2025 they are introducing a minimum monthly account fee. Vanguard’s fees used to be a simple 0.15% of what you have invested and this is (and still will be) capped at £375 a year. This made them super cheap for new investors and very reasonable for investors with big pots too particularly as they also have zero dealing fees. The change they’ve made is to introduce a minimum monthly account fee of £4. Doesn’t sound too bad? Well as we all know fees are critical when investing so Katie has been hard at work updating her Impact of Fees Tool for the Vanguard changes and we are working out what difference it will make for you! For the full Vanguard Announcement straight from the horse’s mouth read this. TLDR SummaryNot got time to read the whole article? Here is the short version: If you have over £32,000 invested with Vanguard across all your accounts (ISA and SIPP and general account) it doesn’t affect you at all The change doesn’t apply to Junior ISAs for your kids If you have a small pot and are a LONG way off getting to £32,000 then it might be worth switching to a different platform until you get to £32,000 total invested Fee FloorThis is the first time Katie and I have seen a fee floor or minimum fee from a company with a percentage charge! This meant that Katie had to go in and add that to the fees tool. The reason Vanguard have done this is to make the smaller portfolios they manage for people more profitable for them. They were losing money if you set up a SIPP with them with only £100 in it. The fee you would pay them on an account of this size would be a whopping 15 pence a year! It costs them WAY more than 15 pence a year to run your account and organise everything. So they have introduced the new minimum and it means that everyone pays at least £4 a month. But remember this fee is is across all account types that you have with Vanguard so look at your combined total across your SIPP, ISA and general account. From January 2025, the lowest possible fee for having a SIPP, ISA and general account is £48 a year. I can understand why they have done it but that doesn’t make me any less annoyed as Vanguard used to be the most incredible place to start investing because of its low fees. The questions is now, should you change to another provider? Does this affect you? Is Vanguard still a good place to invest? Panic and change?Should you panic at the fee increases and change providers? No, absolutely not. The changes don’t come in until the end of January 2025 and we should be led by maths and logic in investment decisions. Let’s look at whether this affects you

Real estate is inherently local, with property values closely tied to the economic drivers and characteristics of specific regions. While understanding the national housing price forecast for 2025 provides valuable context, savvy investors should focus on identifying cities and states with stronger growth potential. After all, outperforming the market is just as crucial as generating […] The post Capitalizing On The Return To Office: Big City Real Estate Insights appeared first on Financial Samurai.

All Insights | Exchange-Traded Funds [Updated] Avantis Emerging Market ETF Starts Trading on Xetra Raph Antoine Last Updated: December 13, 2024 Share: Raph Antoine Last Updated: December 13, 2024 Share: Avantis ETFs Launched on xetra and London Stock Exchange Two ETFs highly anticipated by some of our readers – the Avantis Global Equity UCITS ETF, and the Avantis Global Small-Cap Value UCITS ETF started trading on Xetra as of 1st of October, and on LSE on December 4th.The third ETF – Avantis Emerging Markets Equity UCITS ETF started trading on Xetra on the 12th of December.⚠️ Note: This page will be continually updated as more details emerge. KEY TAKEAWAYS Active ETFs with Value & Profitability Screens – The ETFs will mimic the US funds’ strategies and will have two main factor screens – Value and Profitability. Investment and Momentum factors also play a role in security selection.Listed on Xetra & LSE – Two ETFs were listed on Xetra on the 1st of

We review the UK offering from US Investment platform Vanguard, and look at if their funds and ETF’s are worth it. The post Vanguard UK Investment Platform review appeared first on The Financial Wilderness.

The Big Picture on Real Estate As an Alternative Investment:  Real estate’s income generation, tangible value, and standardized valuations align it more with traditional investments than speculative alternatives. Real estate’s “alternative” label stems from advisory industry convenience, not its fundamental investment characteristics. High-net-worth individuals allocate heavily to real estate, treating it as a stable, core investment rather than an alternative asset. Disclaimer The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial, or investment advice.  Always consult a licensed real estate consultant and/or financial advisor about your investment decisions.  Real estate investing involves risks; past performance does not indicate future results. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or reliability of the information provided.  Our articles may have affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link, the affiliate may compensate our website at no cost to you. You can view our Privacy Policy here for more information.    I’m just going to say it: real estate is not an “alternative investment.” Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it to you with both data and common sense.  Suit-wearing investment advisors call real estate an “alternative investment” because they can’t easily earn fees or commissions on it, outside of REITs. So it comes as no surprise that they’re quick to add REITs to clients’ portfolios, but anything beyond REITs falls into the so-called “alternative” bucket.  Strap in and get ready for a fresh take on real estate and how it fits into your financial goals. What Is An Alternative Investment? First off, let’s address the elephant in the room. What exactly makes something an “alternative” investment, anyway? The general consensus is that alternative investments are asset classes that fall outside the traditional category, like stocks, bonds, actual business, cash, etc. However, the line between alternative and traditional investment becomes blurry in some areas. Let’s use hedge funds, for example; they often trade the same stocks as traditional investors, just with different approaches. Or, private equity: investing in private companies, pretty much like you do in public markets, except it comes with a different ownership structure. That said, the primary characteristics that come with alternative investments are limited liquidity, specific fee structures, lower correlation with traditional markets, and often less regulation. Conversely, when we look at real estate investments through the same lens, we start to check fewer and fewer of these “alternative” boxes. Sure, real estate is less liquid than stocks, but it’s more transparent than most alternative investments we know—and boy, do I have some thoughts about that coming up. Real Estate’s Revenue-Generating Capabilities Perhaps the most valid argument against the classification is that real estate investments result in revenue generation. Particularly, these investments produce predictable income streams through rental payments and other associated revenues—you can’t say that about most alternative investments out there. The revenue aspect aligns more